UnknownEdits0303 at 18:48, 16 March 2026

2026-03-16T18:48:05Z

New page

{{Short description|Persian curry dish}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Dopiaza
| image = [[File:Mutton Dopiaza.jpg|frameless]]
| caption = Persian [[Shiraz]]-style curry with onions
| region = [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Iran]], [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]
| course = Main course
| main_ingredient = [[Meat]], [[onion]]s
}}
'''Dopiaza''' ({{langx|fa|دوپیازه}}, {{langx|ur|ڈوپیاسس}}, {{langx|hi|दो प्याज़ा}}, meaning "two onions") is a [[curry]] that contains onions as a major ingredient. It is recorded in [[Mughlai cuisine]] in the 16th century, and occurs in both [[Iranian cuisine|Iranian]] and [[South Asian cuisine]]. It has become widespread in South Asia and in [[Curry in the United Kingdom|British Indian cuisine]].

== History ==

Dopiaza ("two onions" in Persian), is named for its use of onions in two ways in the dish: boiled in the gravy, and raw or fried as a garnish.<ref name="OED">{{cite web |title=dopiaza noun: Etymology |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/dopiaza_n?tl=true |publisher=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |access-date=17 November 2025 |date=2016}}</ref><ref name="Basu 2015">{{cite web |last=Basu |first=Mallika |title=Lamb Dopiaza: an alternative recipe for Christmas Day |website=[[Evening Standard]] |date=16 December 2015 |url=http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/foodanddrink/lamb-dopiaza-an-alternative-christmas-day-recipe-by-indian-cook-mallika-basu-a3138456.html |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref> The English word is borrowed partly from Urdu ''dopiyāza'' and partly from Persian ''dupiyāza'', where ''du'' means "two" and ''piyāz'' means "onion".<ref name="OED"/>

A legend tells that the fictional [[Mulla Do-Piyaza]] in the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Akbar]]'s court in Delhi created the dish by accident by adding the onions to the dish twice.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jay |first=Martha |title=Onions and Garlic: A Global History |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2016 |pages=48–49 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/kKozDQAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1780236209}}</ref>

An actual recipe for dopiaza was however given by one of Akbar's real courtiers, [[Abul Fazl]] in a 16th century text, the ''[[Ain-i-Akbari]]''. It uses a ratio of two parts onions to ten of meat. The historian of food [[Lizzie Collingham]] comments that the recipe uses substantial quantities of spices (pepper, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin), implying Hindustani influence on the [[Mughlai cuisine|Mughlai dish]].<ref name="Collingham 2006">{{cite book |last=Collingham |first=Lizzie |author-link=Lizzie Collingham |title=Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors |date=2006 |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-099-43786-4 |pages=29–30, 224}}</ref> The dish was taken up in [[Anglo-Indian cuisine]] during the [[British Raj]], and then brought back to Britain, appearing on the menu of [[Veeraswamy]] restaurant (founded in 1926),<ref name="Collingham 2006"/> and later as a standard dish in [[Curry in the United Kingdom|British Indian restaurants]].<ref name="BBC Ultimate Guide"/>

== Dish ==

[[Iranian cuisine|In Iran]], dopiazeh can be made with cubed or ground lamb or chicken, potatoes, and plenty of sliced onions. A vegetarian version, ''Dopiazeh aloo'' is a potato and onion curry; it can be served with a salad, or used as a side dish.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kayhan International: Persian Potato Curry of Dopiazeh Aloo |url=https://en.irna.ir/news/85236114/Headlines-in-Iranian-English-language-dailies-on-Sept-23 |publisher=[[Islamic Republic News Agency]] |access-date=17 November 2025 |date=23 September 2023}}</ref>

[[Indian cuisine|In India]], dopiaza is associated with the city of [[Hyderabad]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Afreen |first=Saima |title=Relish and celebrate this Ramzan with Hyderabadi dishes |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2018/May/19/relish-and-celebrate-this-ramzan-with-hyderabadi-dishes-1816475.html |access-date=17 November 2025 |work=[[The New Indian Express]] |date=19 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="BBC Ultimate Guide">{{cite web |last=Dillon |first=Sheila |author-link=Sheila Dillon |title=From balti to bhuna: the ultimate guide to curry |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3jPY8xvk41DrT93Lw4XPk1w/from-balti-to-bhuna-the-ultimate-guide-to-curry |publisher=[[BBC Radio 4]] |access-date=2 November 2025}}</ref> The Indian cook [[Madhur Jaffrey]]'s ''do piaza'' flavours a shoulder of lamb with boiled onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander, and cumin, and some yoghurt. It is made spicy hot with cayenne pepper; some garam masala and fried onions are added at the end, cooked for a few minutes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jaffrey |first=Madhur |author-link=Madhur Jaffrey |chapter=Lamb with onions: ''Do piaza'' |title=Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-563-16491-3 |pages=46–47}}</ref>

[[Curry in the United Kingdom|In Britain]], the [[BBC]] gives a recipe for a [[prawn]] dopiaza, using onions and spices much as Jaffrey does, but with the addition of honey and peas to the sauce. Butter is used for frying the onions and prawns.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rimmer |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Rimmer |title=Prawn dopiaza |url=https://beebrecipes.co.uk/recipe/prawndopiaza_90954 |publisher=[[BBC Food]] |access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180 caption="Dopiaza around the world">
File:ChickenDopiaza1.jpg|Chicken dopiaza, Netherlands, 2011
File:Paneer Do-Pyaza.jpg|[[Paneer]] do-pyaza, [[Chennai]], India, 2014
File:Bhindi Do Pyaza.JPG|[[Bhindi]] do pyaza, Awadh, India, 2014
File:Dopiaza.JPG|[[Chicken as food|Chicken]] dopiaza, India, 2012
</gallery>

== See also ==

* [[List of onion dishes]]

== References ==

{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==

{{Commons category|Dopiaza}}

{{Curry in the United Kingdom}}
{{Indian Dishes}}

[[Category:Indian curries]]
[[Category:Hyderabadi cuisine]]
[[Category:Telangana cuisine]]
[[Category:Pakistani curries]]
[[Category:Muhajir cuisine]]
[[Category:Iranian cuisine]]
[[Category:Onion-based foods]]

Dopiaza - Revision history

UnknownEdits0303 at 18:48, 16 March 2026